October 02, 2007

ESRI is boasting about a very cool webmapping application in use in Minneapolis. It helps commuters determine the best route to take to avoid problems and congestion that has resulted from the I-35 W bridge collapse over the Mississippi River. The city posts dynamic data immediately on the website so users are searching real-time information to help plan their route. From ESRI, Using the ArcWeb Services Flex API, an ESRI software architect quickly put together a two-tiered Web application that consists of a public-facing Web page and an administrative Web page. According to eSRI, Within three days of the disaster, the city had a complete two-tier application designed and deployed to help keep the city functioning! The app is simple to use.. simply click on a start and end point and wait for the resulting route to be generated... navigation instructions can then be printed. Seehttp://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/traffic/routeplannerintro.asp